Packet networks and optical networks are evolving towards convergence. Multi-technology networks where packets, Optical Transport Networks (OTN) as well as Wavelength-division Multiplexing (WDM) co-exist are already available in the market. Internet Protocol (IP) over WDM (IPoWDM) is becoming a reality. This clear market trend aims at simplifying networks, making them more efficient, and enabling mixing in the same platform different technologies which used to be supported on separate platforms.
Control plane plays an important role in this landscape, where the coexistence and convergence of different technologies requires higher automation to effectively decrease operational expenditure (Opex) and take full advantage of the converged network. In the existing multi-technology networks the approach to control plane is on per-technology basis, with IP/MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching), OTN and WDM each with its own control plane.
In FIG. 10 an illustration of the current approach to multi-technology platforms and networks is illustrated. A client request is handled by a pre-determined manual configuration, by one of the available control planes (MPLS control plane, WDM control plane or the OTN control plane) and this choice is made based on a-priori considerations. The result of this approach is that normally multi-technology networks actually use a single control plane, thus failing to exploit the full potentials of the network.